African American Female Social Work Educators in Predominantly White Schools of Social Work: Strategies for Thriving

This article describes the meaning of the African American female social work educator’s experience in predominantly white educational settings. The experiences and special challenges of African American women in these settings are the focus of attention and are discussed from the framework of Kanter’s theory of proportional representation (Kanter, Men and women of the corporation, New York, NY: Basic Books, 1993). The tenets of Relational/Cultural theory are applied to illustrate the importance of interpersonal connections in the social work academic environment as well as to provide a framework for the emotional, psychological, social and spiritual consequences of their experiences. Implications for institutional change as well as recommendations are provided to address the interpersonal challenges that African American female social work educators face.